BritWres to Impress Preview // RevPro // PCW // FutureShock [Dec '17 Wk 1]

Welcome back for another edition of BritWres to Impress, as we preview the biggest, brightest and best professional wrestling on offer in the United Kingdom this week. As we begin December, we've got another eclectic bunch of shows to look at. We'll be looking at a pair of double headers beginning with Revolution Pro Wrestling's BWTI debut with Contenders 17 in Portsmouth on Saturday and Live at the Cockpit 23 in London on Sunday and then focusing on another BWTI debutante Preston City Wrestling with a pair of shows, starting with Joey Janela's Big Top Adventure on Friday in Blackpool, Lancashire and then onto Live! on Saturday in Wrexham, Clwyd, before concluding with a look at Futureshock Wrestling in Manchester for Reloaded #4, also on Sunday. So lets get into it, here is the BritWres to Impress for the first week of December 2017!

Also This Week 

Friday // Fight Club: PRO Infinity 2017 // Wolverhampton // fightclubpro.bigcartel.com

Sunday // Pro Wrestling 4 U Ho Ho Ho Let's Go // Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire //  facebook.com/prowrestling4u

Saturday // HOPE Wrestling Evolution 54: Broken Bones Matilda Left a Note and a Rose... // Leicester // hopewrestling.co.uk

Saturday // Revolution Pro Wrestling Contenders 17 // Portsmouth // revolutionprowrestling.com

Sunday // Revolution Pro Wrestling Live at the Cockpit 23 // London // revolutionprowrestling.com

As the dust settles from the massive Global Wars 2017, RevPro is back for their final shows in Porstmouth and at the Cockpit of the year. 

The Portsmouth show is a smaller affair, featuring up and comers, clashing with regular roster members. The scheduled card so far see's Andy Boy Simmonz tag with Ian Logan to take on Johnny Rocket & Timo, whilst Zan Phoenix goes one on one with Rishi Ghosh in an intergender showcase.

One group who had an amazing Global Wars was CCK. Travis Banks and Chris Brookes put away Rocky Romero & YOSHI-HASHI on Night One before Lykos joined them in picking up a victory over Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI and Gedo on Night Two. The Legion of Lords didn't have as good a time, with Chief Deputy Dunne and Lord Gideon Grey falling to Gedo and Toru Yano on the first show, but with Rishi Ghosh returning for the first time since Dunne joined the group, maybe they'll find a new groove here. The other pressing matter is that Kid Lykos has suffered another major injury last weekend and will be unable to join Brookes and Banks for the match. Who will CCK draft in as a replacement? How will that effect their rhythm as a trio? How will Dunne try to stop anyone from having fun? There's lots of questions to be answered at the CCKpit on Sunday, but it'll no doubt be entertaining finding out! 

It appeared that "Flash" Morgan Webster had Josh Bodom's number in RevPro. Webster defeated Bodom in August 2015 in Sittingbourne, then a month later in a triple threat with Mark Haskins in Broxbourne, January 2016 saw Webster advance past Bodom in a tournament to crown a new British Cruiserweight Champion at the Cockpit, before Webster returned to the promotion with a victory over the then British Cruiserweight title holder Bodom this October. Since then their feud has escalated, with Bodom getting disqualified in a title match in Cardiff two weeks later and then cost Flash a match with El Phantasmo at last month's Cockpit show. Things seemed to be setting up for an all-out war between the two over the belt, but then Global Wars when Ryan Smile walked out as British Cruiserweight Champion in a match also including El Desperado. So now we have Webster vs. Smile for the strap on Sunday. They've clashed in ATTACK, SCW, Kamikaze Pro and FIGHT! in the past, including a couple of title matches, but at the Cockpit the stakes may never have been higher. Expect these two high-flyers to put on a spectacular showcase in the intimate theatre.

Josh Bodom will also be action, tagging with new partner Zack Gibson to take on Aussie Open's Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher. Whilst Bodom's fortunes where mixed at Global Wars dropping the Cruiserweight belt, but also picking up a big win against former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Rocky Romero, Gibson did not have the same fortunes taking two straight loses to Yuji Nagata and Toru Yano. They'll both be looking to use that weekend to push on as a duo and stop Aussie Open from regaining the momentum that they came into the promotion with in September. Either way it'll be a fascinating clash of styles and personalities. Another fascinating clash sees a debut and a return. Martin Stone has been absent since beating Eddie Dennis in August, spending time working in America for WWE, Beyond and MLW, in the mean time "Smash Mouth" Chris Ridgeway has been killing it in PCW, SWA, Southside and all over the country. The two go head to head at the Cockpit and considering how these two hit, they could very well tear each other apart!

Also Jinny prepares to be the first woman to wrestle for RevPro in York Hall on 8th December with a clash against Charli Evans, El Phantasmo goes up against Kurtis Chapman and RJ Singh faces Rob Lias.

Friday // Preston City Wrestling Joey Janela's Big Top Adventure // Blackpool, Lancashire // prestoncitywrestling.com

Saturday // Preston City Wrestling Live! // Wrexham, Clwyd // prestoncitywrestling.com

When PCW returns to Blackpool for the first time since August, the Lancashire fans are in for something a little bit different. Anyone who caught the Game Changer Wrestling show Joey Janela's Spring Break during WrestleMania weekend in Florida will know exactly the kind of madness to expect from Joey Janela's Big Top Adventure. 

Janela has had a breakthrough year in 2017, tearing it up in Beyond, CZW, AIW and elsewhere for his hardcore style and off the wall imagination. One of the elements introduced at his Spring Break was the mystical Invisble Man. At Big Top Adventure, the Invisible Man returns to go one on one with Janela. Yes, Joey Janela is having a singles match with the Invisible Man. The Invisble Man is literally...an...invisible...man. If you're someone who struggle to suspend your disbelief this will almost certainly not going to be the match for you. But if you're not a Jim Cornette type and can enjoy the more bizarre areas of the art form then you should have a whale of a time! But who could come out with the win? That's the real question, that will be answered on Friday, when the unstoppable force meets the invisible object! 

Spring Break saw Marty Jannetty, Glacier and Dan Severn make appearances and Blackpool will be treated to some more wrestling "legends" when Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake and Virgil hit the Tower. A smorgasbord of guys who were below average for the 1980s, but this is gonna be retro and cool and stuff, probably. Virgil tags up with Danny Hope and Joey Hayes to take on Big T Justice, Sheik el Sham & Dave Birch in a match that is certainly happening this weekend. I have no idea where to even begin when previewing this, to be honest. The Models are comedy gold and Virgil used to managed Ted DiBiase back in the day, so there's that. Lots of comedic potential that will hopefully be realised on Friday night!

The PCW Heavyweight Championship is also on the line as T-Bone puts the title on the line against the man he took the belt from in October, Iestyn Rees. Both men spent time as the FWB faction that was rampant on PCW shows in 2015, but have since been part of fiery rivalry. The two clash in a Street Fight on Friday night, which promises to be a violent, hard-hitting affair between two heavyweight brawlers. There's also a match between two men who know each other very well as Scarlet & Graves duo Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz go head to head. The two are known for their risk-tasking as a duo, so this should be a spectacular blink and you miss it contest. Xavier got the victory on a joint PCW/CZW show in Liverpool in November 2016, so Wentz has something to prove when they go head to head again in Lancashire.

The rest of the card includes a triple threat that may well steal the show as Bubblegum returns to face Chris Ridgeway and Ashton Smith, whilst Martin Kirby, Lionheart, Matthew Brookes, Tal Benham, Arcadian and Phillip Michael have a six man Ladder match. The whole event is available on PPV through Powerbomb.TV

There's nothing announced for the free show in Wrexham on Saturday, but the promotions first and only trip to Wales in 2017 is scheduled to feature the likes of Joey Janela, T-Bone and Dean Allmark are all scheduled to appear.

Sunday // FutureShock Wrestling Reloaded #4 // Manchester // futureshockwrestling.co.uk

FutureShock Wrestling returns to 53Two Theatre in Manchester and their bringing former ROH World Champion Jay Lethal with them. It's been three month's since FutureShock were in Manchester, but they're back with another hot card of family-friendly action. 

In November, T-Bone's FutureShock Championship match with Ashton Smith ended in disqualification when T-Bone introduced the champion to a steel chain in Stockport. With Smith obviously wanting some revenge on the WWE UK competitor, things are set to taken up a notch on Sunday as the two take part in the most appropriate match available, a chain match. The match would seem to favour the rougher T-Bone, who has in the past used No DQ matches to his advantage winning a Street Fight against Mark Massa in April 2016, as well as putting away rival Rampage Brown in Trailer Park Street Fight in August. Smith is going to have to dig deep and find something to get passed the 6 footer from Worcester on Sunday. Who knows whether he'll be able to do it, but it should be fascinating to watch him try.

Jay Lethal has collected titles wherever he's gone in wrestling. In ROH he took the World, Television and Pure Championships, in TNA he took the X Division title six times, as well as the World Tag Team straps with Consequences Creed, as well as the World Heavyweight Championship in the now-defunct FWE. Now he's coming for Xander Cooper's Adrenaline Championship. The last time Lethal was in FutureShock, way back in March 2013, Xander Cooper was just beginning to find a foothold in the promotion as a singles star, having won the Trophy tournament the previous November, but since then he's developed massively, developing the Uprising faction, taking the FutureShock Championship from Jack Gallagher and is now in his second run as Adrenaline Champion. Cooper is also no stranger to defeating International stars however, he took the title from WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne in October (in three way including Soner Dursun) and having manager Bobby Gage by his side means that he always has something up his sleeve if things don't quite go his way. This could be the proverbial chess match come Sunday night in Manchester. 

There will also be two more First Round matches in the Legacy Tournament. Joey Hayes and Abel Stevens have already qualified for the next round and on Sunday, Soner Dursun will take on Kenny Williams in what is sure to be an aerial showcase. Up and comer JJ Webb is also scheduled to take on the reinvented Thomas Wolfe as the competition continues to throw up intriguing combinations. Cyanide will look to keep his path of destruction going as Joey Hayes steps up following his victory over Damon Leigh, whilst Lana Austin puts her Women's Championship on the line against Molly Spartan.

Thanks for checking out BritWres to Impress this week, hopefully we've helped you find the right show for you. Don't forget to send your reviews in acrossthepondwrestling@hotmail.co.uk. 

Article by James Marston

A Conversation with "Session Moth" Martina

ATPW recently got the chance to talk with "Session Moth" Martina (recorded 14th September 2017), this is that talk/conversation/interview. We talked about seeing red at NORTH, the appeal of Over the Top Wrestling, breaking into fresh markets, the wonder that is Fight Club: Pro and so much more. Let's get on with it, here it is, enjoy.

ATPW: I wanted to start by asking how you were following that match at NORTH? [Martina was busted open during a match at NORTH on 9th September]

Martina: Oh I'm fine! It looked a lot worse than it was, which is a good thing, in a way. I just did a dive, the footage should be up soon enough. I'm pretty sure NORTH put out their matches for free, they just put it up on YouTube. I just smacked heads with "Flash" Morgan Webster and instantly I saw blood and I thought it was him. I felt the bang obviously, but I was like "Are you okay?", then I realised it was me. It was very scary for a minute, because it wasn't a little bit of blood, it just started gushing. I checked my teeth and I checked my nose and I had so much blood in my eye at this point that I thought maybe I burst an eyeball or something. Once I blinked it out, I was like "Okay, I don't know what it is, but I can keep going". So we just kept going. People were handing me clothes and once it was out of my eyes and I knew I could see and I remembered everything and I was good to go. So, I carried on. It was a shock more than anything else, seeing that much blood, but once I knew I was okay, it was actually quite fun to work with and to power through. I'm very lucky at the same time, because it could have been crucial. 

ATPW: I suppose, that as long as you're okay, then it sort of adds something to the match...

SMM: Yeah, as it went along and we were doing brawls in the crowd, I could hear the crowd being like "Oh my God, she's a trooper!". I know it's very scary as well, being a female, in the ring, in the main event with three boys. It'd be more shocking to the crowd seeing a girl bleed. Regardless of gender, it's shocking to the crowd when they see blood, but I think being the girl in the match, they were probably like "Oh my God!", because everyone's a little more sympathetic towards women.

ATPW: We see don't blood that much these days, anyway. Especially, women, that's really rare. Then even more so because it was an intergender match...

SMM: Yeah, I remember, the promoter, instantly, before he knew it was all okay, he got worried about that. He was like "Oh no, is this okay?". But once it was fine, in a way, it gained me a lot of respect on Twitter and stuff like that and the crowd went home ridiculously happy and they were like "Oh my God, that was brilliant" and we ended up having a really good match and I was happy with it. 

Credit - The Ropes Photography

ATPW: Let's start the interview proper with wrestling interview question #1, which is...How did you get into professional wrestling and what made you fan? 

SMM: I'd always been a fan, since I was young. Me and my brothers used to watch wrestling growing up and around the time when everyone one lost interest or everyone fell out of love with WWF/WWE, I didn't. I was the only one in my circle that still liked it, but you know, life moved on and I did new things and hung around new people. Then I got a little bit older, I was out with my friends one time and something came up, when we were all out drinking and I was like "Do you remember Stone Cold? The Rock? Chris Jericho?" and we just ended up talking about a load of WWF memories. When I got home I went on YouTube and just started looking up all the old stuff and I was like "Oh my God, this is great!" and then fell into a loop of it and ended up becoming obsessed with it all over again.

The obsession just got bigger and then eventually, I never thought I would do it, because I was a lot bigger back then, I was a big girl, but I just loved wrestling, I looked up something about Irish wrestling and saw that there was a school that did it. I thought "Ah that's cool", so I looked it up on Facebook and I thought I'd love to that one day and put it to the back of my head. Then I met the guy who ran the school, by chance, because my next door neighbour was friends with him. So, we ended up meeting and I said to him one night "I'd love to do it, but I wouldn't have the balls to do it". The next day I had a message from him, saying "I set up a class for you, come down and give it a go" and I was like "Ah no, I won't be able to do it" but then I just said "Ah fuck it, I'll give it a go". Then I got in the ring and I did the few little bits and I was probably absolutely terrible, but I said "Okay, I actually like this". That was about seven years ago.

ATPW: So when you began wrestling as Kazza G, mostly in Ireland, what was the scene like back then in 2011/12? 

SMM: Compared to now it was dead. There wasn't much going on. When I first started training my training school had just started running shows and I was their ring announcer on the first few shows. Eventually, they said "Okay, you're ready to wrestle, we're gonna put you in a battle royale" and there was no other girls training at this point so I was in there with the guys from the get go. Once I debuted it just sort of took of. I remember another promotion that did smaller shows, but they were all around Ireland, they used to travel all the time, because there was so few women, he booked me for every show! So from the start I was wrestling every weekend, because of that place and my home training school shows. They got better as it went along, it was still the one big show in Dublin once a month and then we do these smaller shows around the country. But it was the same, it was very old, camp style, boo-yay kind of wrestling, but it was great experience for getting me comfortable in front of a crowd. I wasn't doing anything to the degree I do now, I was either a basic heel or a basic face, but it was great to have that amount of experience in front of a crowd and get comfortable, wrestling all the time and improving in-ring. But, looking at the scene then compared to now, it's insane to see the difference, but I think that's the same for British wrestling and Irish wrestling all the same, all sorts of indepdent wrestling has just exploded over the last few years.

ATPW: Over the Top Wrestling (OTT) started in 2014 and you were on the very first show...

SMM: Yeah, I was Kazza on that show. I'd done a fair bit now as Kazza. I'd wrestling in Switzerland and I'd won a belt in Belgium and I'd wrestled for every promotion in Ireland, so it wasn't a case of where I didn't do anything before Martina. I did a lot and I got a lot of respect in Ireland and obviously winning a belt in Belgium was a big deal and even flying over to a different country from Ireland was very rare. I definitely had experience under my belt before OTT began.

I wrestled the first show as Kazza G. The first show did have such a special air to it and everybody knew that something special was happening here. I kinda just knew straight off "wrestling as Kazza isn't gonna do it", because we had such eccentric characters on the show. The Wards were the main guys, who were a stable of characters, then we had the Lads from the Flats, who were a stable of characters. So I was in Germany for the second show, so I wasn't on that, so then I came back and I was there for the next one but I wasn't on it. I was like "Nah, gotta do something different, something's gotta change". So I was like "I'll go with the Lads from the Flats", because they were like "They need a girl with them". So I said to myself "I'm gonna need to be like a townie girl" because who would the Lads from the Flats hang out with and I thought "A Session Moth is such a popular term in Ireland right now" because a Session Moth is pretty much a townie girl. They go to clubs, they drink, they just want to party, they're real common and just want to have fun. That's all the care about. So then I thought "What would a Session Moth wear? She'd wear pajamas!" They're the ones that go, hungover the next morning, they go to the shop in their pajamas. So then I got leopard print pajamas, because leopard prints so tacky! I was like "I'll wear hoop earrings and I'll come out with the Lads from the Flats and we'll have a rave and we'll just drink and we'll do this". That was the beginning of the character and as time went on I just kept adding things to it and started to get to know Martina and fell in love with everything about her, because it was just so much fun to do. The comedy wrestling aspect just made me fall in love with wrestling all over again, because I was going out there and making a fool of myself and having so much fun.

ATPW: What do you think has made OTT stand out as a promotion in Ireland? Because it was probably the first Irish promotion that came on my radar, as a fan in England. 

SMM: I dunno. I think it's obviously I think everyone looked over at Ireland and they didn't see much, because there wasn't any "adult shows", lets say, because it was all kids shows. If you ever saw any photos or film, growing up, it was kids in the crowd. Then OTT began and it was geared towards adults, it was Over 18s and people drink at it and it was such adult content, like myself and Lads for the Flats and stuff like that. We didn't have any British wrestlers on our first few shows, except for Pete Dunne and Ryan Smile, they've been with us since the start. I met Pete and Ryan years ago in another promotion in Ireland, a small kids show again, so we've all known them a very long time and we've been friends for a very long time. So they were already known to us, so when they came over and obviously Pete started getting more exposure as the years went on. Pete would always go back home and say "There's this great place in Ireland called OTT" and he loved it there because he was so over and got his job done so well. As time went on it just became word of mouth and then social media and then obviously we started booking more British wrestlers and our production values started increasing...it was kinda the same way any of the big promotions got to be big promotions, people just started catching on and saying "Oh wow, look at that".

I think what makes OTT stand out to all the other British promotions, even now is our character content is very original and our comedy aspect are very original. There's a mix of characters, you'll have your comedy, you'll have you highflying matches, you'll have your big man matches, there's literally something for everyone. We always like to do different thing and I like to think you'll see matches in OTT that you won't see anywhere else. 

ATPW: Yeah I've seen a lot of interesting and different stuff from OTT, mainly on YouTube and social media. I think that's the stuff that catches peoples attention and goes on to catch even more attention...

SMM: Yeah, I remember a show last year, it was the show that Will Ospreay debuted on, but we had the characters from Father Ted on the show and they were involved in the same match that I was in. So it just became this big thing and the video went viral around Ireland, because everyone was like "Oh my God, it's Father Ted in wrestling!". So I was asked to be on the national TV station for it, along with the promoter, so that was really good exposure for us and obviously Will loved it, so then Will started talking about it and telling people about it and again with Pete. It had all these great aspects with and it did really boom from then on. 

ATPW: So from OTT, you started coming to the UK in 2016, initially with PCW, how was that initial experience? 

SMM: Yeah that was my first UK booking, which was quite huge at the time, because I remember people saying "Will the UK get the gimmick? Will they understand it, because it's so Irish?" And that was my fear with it and as well I wouldn't say I would know Martina as well as I do now. I wouldn't even have wrestled as much as I do now. Oh my God, I can't even remember when it was. I didn't have much more since then, but towards the end of the year last year I started getting more exposure and then before I knew it, I had to leave a job. I've been booked in the UK, I think it's been two weekends this year that I haven't wrestled, which is insane, because looking at my life last year where I was working for OTT once a month and that was it because all them kids shows had stopped. There wasn't anything happening, so it was literally just OTT. So I was wrestling once a month last year and I was looking at all my British friends I'd made, who were wrestling every weekend and I got really jealous and I was like "That's what I want! That's what I want!". Then last year just kind of boomed and I've been so lucky this year.

ATPW: You talked a little bit there about a worry that the gimmick might not have translated when you came over the UK. In December, you're working in Canada, do you have similar kind of feelings about that? (This has since been cancelled after the company turned out to be a bag of shite)

SMM: I always worried about that. I worried about that wrestling in mainland Europe as well, but then I wrestled in Germany and it got ridiculously over and I'm debuting for wXw at the end of the month and I've got a fair few dates with them for the rest of the year. I think, maybe my spoken comedy may not translate for a lot of them, but I think people just get it, when they see me drinking beer and they see me dancing, I think regardless of what it is you can understand it. I think I've toned it, to where...because I have a lot of followers from Canada and America and even Japan, that have really gotten on board with it and seem to love it. So I guess it's just going over and make the best showing that I can. 

ATPW: Have you ever had a situation where you've gone out and the crowd has gone for it? 

SMM: No, I think the majority of places that I've been have really, really taken to it, which I'm very lucky to say. There, of course, might be the case were you do one joke and it might not get the reaction you hoped it would, but usually you can cover it up pretty well, so that's fine. I've always gotten a very, very good reception. I think one of the hardest places I've worked, because I know they have mixed feelings is ICW. My character is always you love or you hate me and they're always very strong on either side of that. Which is fine and I perfectly accept that, because it is such a strong gimmick, that you can't be indecisive about it, you either like it or you don't. I mainly find it from Scotland people, "I'm not really a fan", but it's very rare that I get that, so I'm lucky. 

ATPW: I think with ICW there's very much a case of "shades of grey" with how the crowd react to things...

SMM: I always think that they're very much in favour of homegrown talent and I think that was it. I did notice, because I've been there for most of the year, as time went on they were warming to me the more they saw of me. So it definitely did get better towards the last few of them, but at the start it was difficult, because I think they weren't decided on if they wanted just plain wrestling or if they wanted a character. I think overtime they've started to grow to like the character. Especially because I like to give Martina a lot of backstory and it's not black and white, there's a lot to it. I'll always be like "Oh no, this is about Martina, this is what Martina would do, she's mad like this. This time she's going to approach it with her drinking, this time she's going to approach it with her sex, this time she's going to do it because she's angry" I like to think that there's a lot to her. 

Credit - Jamie Spaul

ATPW: It sounds like you spend a lot of time thinking about what your character would do in each situation? 

SMM: In every situation. Say it's a title match, I'm not gonna be full of jokes this time or I might be at the start but by the end of it, maybe you've pissed me off and maybe I'm gonna kill ya for it! I look so much into Martina, if you ever see me on Twitter that's why I'm always saying I've got so many kids and the number keeps changing and that's just a joke I play, even for myself, but people seem to love it and people seem to jump on it. That's the whole thing, I like to pretend I'm this mother to a million kids and I don't know any of the Dads, so it's like I'm trying to make a living, so that's what I'm doing! It just makes it a lot more fun it you actually have something when you actually have something, when you're going out there and changing into a different person. Maybe I'm fighting this girl because she's pissed me off or she's slagged what I'm wearing and I'm thinking "Bitch, I'm wearing better than you!" 

ATPW: I wanted to talk a little bit about a promotion that I got to a lot, Fight Club: PRO...

SMM: Oh my favourite! It is my absolute home from home. OTT is my home, of course and it's my all-time favourite, but Fight Club in the UK is my home from home, I adore that place. I look forward to it every month. 

ATPW: I think on your first show, when you came in and went to bar, there was a sense "What's going on here?" and then it's just sort of snowballed into a story with Shay and all sorts of stuff...

SMM: I think it was a case of I was very friendly with everyone in Fight Club and I knew they really liked my character and I know Fight Club didn't really do comedy before I came along and that's one thing they always said to me. Once I did get out there and actually did start having matches, they were like "We really like the dynamic that you're bringing to the table", because they have their insane dream matches all the time, sometimes it can be nice to just get out there and the crowd just have a laugh. They have great women talent when they come in, but the great thing about Fight Club is they only book the best, they're not just going to throw away a match. It's always going to top notch, when you're going and I think they really liked the idea that I could get in there and it's the place where...at the London show, it was such a mad scramble where it had the UK Champion and a Session Moth and Jack Sexsmith and Eddie Dennis and Jordan Devlin, the big head, thirsty to prove himself and Millie McKenzie and Charlie Evans, just all of us in the same match and everyones just looking around and thinking "What? This is such a clash of different people, what the hell is this?". I never thought I'd be in the same ring as the WWE UK Champion, we're two different sides of a card, but it happened and it was so much, it was one of the funnest matches that I've ever had, because it was just so ridiculous, but there was so much wrestling and there was so many moves and there was so many comedy spots. It was just the perfect snowball of a match and I loved it! 

Credit - The Ringside Perspective

ATPW: I was gutted I missed that weekend, I think it was the first FCP show I'd missed in a couple of years...

SMM: My match with Dan Moloney, that was another different side to me there. I went in laughing and joking, but by the end of the match he'd been beating me up so I was angry and Shay was angry. So that showed even a little bit of a different side, it's the evolution of the character. 

ATPW: It's certainly a different kind of story to what FCP had been telling previously. 

SMM: It's all based around the fact that nobody had noticed that Dan Moloney was undefeated in Fight Club and he'd never been pinned, but it's all coming around.

ATPW: If someone hadn't seen your work, what would show them to win them over to the Session Moth?

SMM: Oh wow. I'd probably show them my promos to start off with. I'd show them my highlights video at the start, that's just different clips of me doing moves and dancing to my entrance song. That kind of gives a jist about what I'm about, all over. I like my promos that I've done, I remember my very first promo. It's so long ago now, but I just pretended I'd got my pay from the social and I was going out to buy my kids food, but I ended up going out and partying all over town instead. I liked the last promo I did for ICW, for my hen night, where I just had a mad night out, with the lads. Because what else would you do on a hen? Another one where I was hitch hiking to ICW. My favourite one as well, after ICW's fanpage blew saying I'd set women's wrestling back five years, I did a promo addressing and it was called "Public Service Announcement by Session Moth Martina" and I just did a short public service announcement outside a courtroom. That was fun.

Match-wise, I really enjoyed my PROGRESS debut match with Dahlia Black, and TK Cooper ringside. I just think that was a great mix, it was just fun. The story was that I was trying to steal Dahlia's fella, because that's what I do and it just gave me the perfect opportunity to tell that story. Because yeah, I'm gonna steal her fella and she's gonna hate me for it and that's why she's beating me up and I just want him and she's not gonna get in the way of that. I really like that match, the crowd were fantastic. I love mine and Shay's "Fans Bring the Alcohol" match, I thought that was just so much fun. It was just mad. That's what I love. I'd also show that eight person scramble. Then a million ones from OTT, where you could just show my wrestling matches. I love my ones with Alex Windsor, I love my ScrapperMania matches.

Credit - Rob Brazier Photography

Yeah, there's loads, there's always different stories to tell. That's one thing I really like, that I can flip the penny. Another thing I really like is that everytime I have a match, I try to do something different, something a little bit out there, something unseen and something that you wouldn't expect. One thing I've started doing recently is calling myself a hardcore wrestling, but only having sweet fights. I'm just beating people up with sweets because it makes no sense and that's what I'm about! I just like to have fun and do something that you won't see anywhere else, you won't see another woman do it, that's for sure, you probably won't even see a man do it.

ATPW: Let's talk about goals, short term, what would you like to do? Then long time, what would like to do in the next five or ten years?

SMM: Well, in five or ten years I probably shouldn't be wrestling any more! I suppose, my goal this time last year was to get booked in the UK and I've done that. Then I had a list of promotions that ideally, before I was booked anywhere, where I was like "I want to get here" and I've debuted for every single one of them, which is such an honour. I'd love to get to somewhere outside of Europe and I'm meant to be going to Canada, I might have some other stuff in the pipeline coming up. It's pretty surreal sitting there and literally seeing your dreams come true. Little things that you've set for yourself, it's very overwhelming. It's crazy, really, because I never ever thought it would happened so far. I guess coming to end of this year, I just want to keep it going. I always want to stay at Fight Club, that would just be the place that I always want to go every month. If I've got them every month and OTT, then I'd be happy, but of course, I just want to keep wrestling, I want to continue to be someone recognisable on the scene and liked on the scene and requested to be around. To stay in demand, I guess, would be the main thing for now. Long term, I've definitely got goals and as I say some of them are coming true, which is surreal and you'll see as it unfolds. Just stay relevant is my main thing, just stay relevant and don't be boring. That's why I do everything in my power not to be boring.

ATPW: I think if there's one word someone wouldn't use to describe Martina it would be boring! To close, where can people find you online and anything else you'd like to add?

@Mothfromdaflats on Twitter. Session Moth Martina on Instagram and the Facebook like page. Buy my merch. Just keep an eye out and hopefully I'll see you on a show, just dance with me when I ask you to dance with me and bring me beer! That's all I ask.

---

Well, that was a lot of fun! Seriously, I had a blast recording this and I hope that comes across. I feel like we only scratched the surface with Martina in this interview and hopefully we'll get the chance to chat again later down the line. A big thanks to Martina for taking the time out to do this!

Article by James Marston 

Greg Lambert Interview - Ropes and Glory: The Emotional Rise of British Wrestling

At the end of last month, ATPW had the pleasure of talking to Greg Lambert, known for his work as a manager, commentator, promoter and Master of Ceremonies across the UK for the likes of PCW, RQW, FWA, Southside, IPW:UK and others. With Greg's new book Ropes and Glory: The Emotional Rise of British Wrestling, a sequel to Holy Grail: The True Story of British Wrestling's Revival out now, there couldn't have been a better time to speak to the 15 year veteran of the Brit Wres scene. 

ATPW - Tell us a little bit about Ropes and Glory, what's it about and what can people learn from reading it? 

Greg Lambert - It's about the last ten years of British wrestling history, through my own eyes and my experiences. Things that I've been involved in as a promoter or a commentator or a manager on the UK wrestling scene and also things that I've experienced by going to shows and also watching on the telly. Things that I've been aware through studying the British scene. It's the journey from 2007 to where we are now. British wrestling has never, it's just never ever been as good as it is now. Even back in the glory days of Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks, it's never had the attention and received the opportunities that we have now. So, it's the journey of where it was ten years ago, through the triumph and the tragedies along the way, to the return to British terrestrial TV with an episodic series.. It's amazing.  

When did you begin work on the sequel? 

Straight after the first book came out. Holy Grail: The True Story of British Wrestling's Revival was the first book and that was really picking up the story from the World of Sport era up to about 2007, but mainly focused on the FWA, which is the promotion even now that I'm most synonymous with. Straight after that came out in November 2012, I went on a book signing tour. Some of the material in this book is from when I was on that tour, that was the first time I went to an ICW show for example, going to PROGRESS Wrestling for the first time, as well. A lot of research spans from back then. 

How else did you go about collating the material and writing up the book in general? 

I think I'm blessed with a really good memory, I think that helps. I've got a pretty good memory for dates, but I've also got a book, which every show I've worked on I've kept a list of where the show was, the date of the show, matches on the show. So that's a good reference and some of it comes from the internet as well. There's a lot of interviews as well, with some of the top names in British wrestling. So you're getting their memories, their perceptions of what's happened over the last ten years. The likes of Rockstar Spud, Drew Galloway, Rampage Brown, Noam Dar... So it's not just my narrative, there's different opinions. 

The Foreword is written by Rockstar Spud, what do you feel was Spud's importance to the book and to the scene as a whole around this time? 

I'm extremely grateful to Spud for taking the time to write the foreword, because I really wanted him to do it, because he's one of my favourite people and favourite performers in British wrestling for the past ten years. The significance is I think Spud broke the mould for a lot of British wrestlers who aren't the stereotypical size, they aren't the stereotypical look, that you would associate with becoming an international star. There's been people like Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and Randy Savage, who came before and broke the mould for lighterweight wrestlers, but when Spud started out in the FWA in 2004, he was a different level of not looking like a wrestler. He worked on the body, he worked on the performance skills, he working on everything to the point where he became a champion with my promotion, the XWA, as it was. How Spud became the champion and the story, how he evolved from then and how he did in the second coming of the FWA and then to get to British BootCamp and to end up with TNA. That's a great achievement, he basically knocked the door down for a lot of British wrestlers to become stars in America, because he wasn't supposed to do it. He was never supposed to do it. He was told "You'll never make it, you're too this, you're too that" and he just didn't take no for an answer. He preserved and through brains and talent and drive, he made it. I think he set a great example for others.

You mentioned earlier that about the numerous interviews that you conducted for the book, did you discover anything new from participating in these? 

Lots of things. Rampage's interview sticks in my head, as you read the book you'll discover a lot about Rampage Brown, his mentality as a professional wrestler and how it was for him going over to America as a young man and being a part of WWE developmental, before it became NXT. He was there with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, but he struggled over there to make any kind of an impact and he talks very candidly about that. He also talks very candidly about his experience on British BootCamp 2, which surprised me, some of the things that he said about that. I think a lot of people that read Rampage's thoughts will find those quite eye-opening. 

Dave Rayne is interviewed for the book. People will know Dave as the former promoter of FutureShock Wrestling and his role in PCW, predominantly, but I think people will get a different opinion of Dave when they read the contributions that he makes to the book. What an intelligent and quite emotionally sensitive guy he is, but also very clued up on wrestling as a whole. That's how I know him, but I think a lot of people will see a side of Dave that they may not have seen before. 

Also, Alex Shane. With the Second Coming of the FWA, which in itself is a great story, which is written out in a lot of detail. I think people will be really interested to read what he has to say about that. I think that people's perception of Alex, who can be quite a polarising figure, people's perceptions might change, for the better.

Greg, you've had numerous roles in pro wrestling over the years, but what brings you the most enjoyment professionally? 

Good question! Still booking, I would say. I've just started again, doing some storyline writing for PCW and I think when things go to plan and seeing an audience react, the way you want them to react and you see performers execute your vision, I don't think there's anything greater. I've never experienced anything greater. 

Commentary I'm really enjoying at the moment, really really enjoying, the commentary side of things. I did the Five Star Wrestling show in January on Spike, which was an incredible moment, personally and professionally, because it was the first live broadcast by a British-based wrestling company on UK television in almost fifty years. To be able to work with an incredible television company, the production people too, because they were really top level people that I was working with. The director was a guy who worked on World Cup Football, World Cup Rugby and some big big fights. To work with that level of people was great. To work with some of the wrestlers as well, some of the biggest names in the industry today likes Rey Mysterio, Drew Galloway, that was just incredible. It's great to commentate for PCW as well, being doing that for five years now, PCW is still a great promotion to work for. Lots of exciting things coming up. 

Within the book, you reveal a list of instructions you try to stick by as a booker, why do you think they are so important when writing and booking pro wrestling? 

I think, they're more reminders really. It's very easy when you're booking to lose sight of the big picture, so it's quite handy to have these guidelines in the back of my mind. Which I can always go back to and refer to. They do work. I've got numerous example of them working, but the main one I think is what the book is all about, the book is an emotional rollercoaster and done right booking should be an emotional rollercoaster. The quote by Dusty Rhodes that I talk about in the book "Wrestling is built on emotion" that's my mantra for booking and I think that's very much the mantra of the book as well. 

As a viewer, I certainly prefer to watch pro wrestling that has a clear vision. 

Yeah, I think this year's WrestleMania, you can tell, that they've got a much clearer vision, than they did last year. Every match seems to have been built up over time, with a purpose and you can kind of see where they are going, but some of the results of the matches are in doubt as well, which I think is great. Despite the fact you've got that clear direction, there's still a bit of uncertainty about which way they're going, but everything's logical and makes sense and that's what wrestling should be, I think. 

You've worked with a variety of performers throughout your career, from big international stars to young kids getting their first break. Is there anyone in professional wrestling that you'd like to work with, that you haven't got the chance to just yet? 

That's a good question! Yeah, loads of people actually I think. On the British wrestling scene, there's a young lad down south, who I really really rate, he's like the new Spud, a guy called Sid Scala. I love the character, I love his passion, he's a protege of Barry Charalambous, who was also a mentor to Spud and a lot other guys as well. You can see Barry's influence in Sid, because like Spud, he knows the value in cutting a promo, of making sure people remember him. It's not always about having the best wrestling match, it's about making sure that you're remembered and Sid does that. From a British perspective, I think he'd be a great person to work with.

I think if you read the book, you'll see the respect that I have for Mark Dallas as a promoter. I get on very well with Mark, I think he's great guy and I love his ethos for ICW. I love everything about ICW, in fact Scottish wrestling as a whole. It really does have a special place in my heart, the Scottish wrestling scene. I have a lot of respect for Mark. We're not the same in a lot of ways, but I think in terms of our theories of wrestling, there's a lot of parallels. It would be nice to do something with Mark at some point. 

I nearly had the opportunity to work with Kurt Angle, with Five Star Wrestling, but that fell through because he signed on to do WWE Hall of Fame. Which is great, absolutely great and well deserved. I didn't mind in the end, because I ended up commentating with Joe Hendry and Joe Hendry is a guy I really rate and respect and is thoroughly talented and enthusiastic. When you get the opportunity to work with a guy on Kurt Angle's level, it's a big deal and I still hope I get to work with Kurt in the future. 

In the first book, The Holy Grail, the Holy Grail was British wrestling returning to television, since then British wrestling has exploded and has indeed returned to television with WOS Wrestling, Five Star and WWE UK (depending on your definition of TV), what's that been like for you personally? To see British wrestling return to the big time? 

It's had me on the verge of tears, quite a few times, to be honest with you. Not miserable tears, the opposite. It's tremendous. I can't really put it into words. All I can really say about it is that when I started with FWA, when I worked closely with Alex Shane, that was always Alex's vision. Talk Wrestling, the TalkSport Radio show, it was always the vision. When you've worked closely with someone like him, bought into the vision and worked hard to bring the vision about...and in later years, there's other people who've taken up the baton and brought that vision forward and to the next level. I think when you've been involved for as long as I have and worked with the people that I have and seen them struggling and when you've done shows in front of 25 people and you've seen shows cancelled because you've not sold enough tickets and you've seen things go wrong and when you've seen terrible things happen...that when you get to this level, you're bound to be emotional about it. 

When the World of Sport special was on on New Year's Eve, it was quite something for me, as it was for everybody who has been involved in that struggle for years and years and years.

I think that's the real power of wrestling, that not only does it effect those outside the business, but it can have such a profound effect on someone like yourself. 

Yeah, it is. Done right, it's an incredible artform. It's so difficult to explain. One of the hardest things I find about wrestling is trying to explain it to non-fans, who just don't get it at all and in the end, it's not worth it. People are either going to get it or they're not. But those that do get it, there are a lot of us and it's really nice to share experiences like that. To share the same mentality with such a big group of people.

Do you have any future project lined up at the moment? What's next for Greg Lambert? 

I'll be at PCW, I'm still commentating for them, I'm doing the booking for the main shows and in regards to Five Star Wrestling, I'd expect an announcement soon. 

A special thanks to Greg Lambert for taking the time to speak to us. We'll have a full review of Ropes and Glory: The Emotional Rise of British Wrestling on atpw.co.uk soon. You can purchase your copy now, either in Paperback or on Kindle from Amazon and Lulu.

You can find more about Greg and Ropes and Glory here. 

Twitter - @RopesandGlory
Facebook - Greg Lambert - Wrestling

Interviewer - James Marston 

Twitter - @ATPWrestling 

Facebook - /acrossthepondwrestling 

Instagram - @ATPWrestling

Rampage Brown Interview - WOS Wrestling/IMPACT Wrestling

Recorded at ITV's WOS Wrestling press conference on at MediaCityUK in Salford on Monday, here's our interview with former PROGRESS World Champion, Rampage Brown! 


ATPW - So Rampage, how does it feel to be here today with WOS Wrestling and ITV and to be part of such a big project?


Ramage Brown - Yeah, it feels really good. Obviously anything to do with British wrestling being on TV again is "sign me up". I'm happy with that. It feels great to be apart of it. 


On the special, you tagged up with Ashton Smith, how do you feel that went? 


Yeah, it was good. Surprsingly, because no one had seen me and Ashton as a team before, but we got a lot of good feedback. Me and Ashton are good close friends, that's the thing with a good tag team, you've got to get on outside the ring as well as inside the ring. It was good to share the ring with him definitely. 


You faced off against the Coffey Brothers, who've you've worked with in the past, how was it to share this stage with them?


It was an experience as always, you're in their running about, blowing up and slamming yourself around. It is what it is. But they're a highly respected tag team. I've got so much respect for them both. Good guys. I couldn't think of a better think of a better team to share the ring with. 


The WOS taping is coming up in Preston in May, obviously a place you're very familiar with from working for PCW, what do you think the city will bring to the show? 


They will bring their own atmosphere. As long as other fans don't get intimidated by that and jump in their and have fun, because not everybody's a wrestling fan in that capacity. There'll be families and things like that. Yeah, it should add to the atmosphere, as long as they're aware that there's other people around as well. I think it'll be great and add to the show. As long as it's lively. 


I think that came across on the special and created a good soundtrack for the show...


There's nothing worse than when people sit on their fingers and do nothing. Without a doubt, they definitely did a good service to the show. 

You've worked both sides of the coin in wrestling, you've been a good lad, you've bad lad, do you have preference or is it all about getting a reaction? 


No I don't have a preference, I used to do, but now I don't really care. It's all about going out there and doing your job, going out their and doing what you're hired to do. 


With IMPACT Wrestling coming in, you were on the second series of TNA British Bootcamp, did you take anything from that experience or was it all about the opportunity?


It was just a situation that came up at the time and it was a just a way of making money. I'm sorry that I can't tell you anything other, but that's just what it was at that time. 


Do you think there's going to be an opportunity for guys who work for WOS to get seen on American TV? Would you be open to that?


Possibly. Only the future will tell. 


What was it like to be featured on a main stream channel and get such a prestigious slot on New Year's Eve? 


It was one of those things where it just kind of came out of nowhere, so it was hard to take it all in. When you actually saw it on the TV at the time, it was a bit surreal. But again, it's all apart of the journey.


Did you ever, ever think this was going to happen? 


Not in my lifetime, not in my time in the ring. I feel fortunate that it has and that I'm apart of it. 

I'd like to thank Rampage for taking the time to speak to us on Monday and we'd love to get an opportunity build on this short interview in the future. WOS Wrestling tapes for TV at Preston Guild Hall on 25/26 May and tickets go on sale on 9th April at 9am for Gigs and Tours, Tickermaster and Preston Guild Hall.

Interviewer - James Marston 

Twitter - @ATPWrestling 

Facebook - /acrossthepondwrestling 

Instagram - @ATPWrestling